|
No. 133142
| The People of the State of Michigan, |
|
Joshua D. Abbott |
Plaintiff-Appellant, |
|
|
| v |
(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
|
|
(Macomb - Maceroni, P.) |
|
|
| Mary Ann McBride, |
|
Christine A. Pagac |
| Defendant-Appellee. |
|
|
| __________________________________________ |
|
|
Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellant's Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Plaintiff-Appellant's Supplemental Brief>>
Defendant-Appellee's Supplemental Brief>>
Michigan Association of Deaf and Hard of Hearing's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Background
Mary Ann McBride is deaf and mute. She was charged with open murder in the death of her live-in boyfriend. Before trial, McBride moved to suppress statements that she made to detectives of the Roseville Police Department the morning after the murder. She asserted that she did not knowingly and voluntarily waive her Miranda rights and that the officers ignored her request for an attorney, violating her constitutional right to the assistance of counsel. The prosecutor responded that McBride was not questioned until an interpreter arrived to assist her, and that McBride signed a waiver-of-rights form. The trial judge conducted an evidentiary hearing and also reviewed a videotape of McBride’s interview with the Roseville police officers. The judge then issued a written opinion suppressing McBride’s statements, concluding that she did not knowingly and intelligently waive her Miranda rights and that questioning should have stopped when McBride asked if she needed an attorney. The prosecutor appealed. On remand from the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals issued a published opinion that affirmed the trial court’s exclusion of McBride’s statement. The appeals court held that the trial court was wrong to conclude that the questioning should have ceased when McBride asked if she should have an attorney. The Court of Appeals nevertheless affirmed the suppression of McBride’s statements, concluding that she did not knowingly waive her Miranda rights. The prosecutor appeals.
Top of Page
|
